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Jim, Bald facts, first page spread, price incorrect, fact !

I've driven the Evora and I've owned a Cayman S for three years and I think I know a thing or two about what makes a special handling car. I can confirm both that the Evora handles and steers as sweetly as the Cayman S - and so makes a worthy winner of any Handling (not Best Car) award - but also that it is streets behind the Porsche as an ownership proposition (which is not what the test is about, as Jim Holder will no doubt agree).

So, I have faith in the judge's choice of winner. But the Aston 2nd???? Ahead of the GT3????

You have got to be joking....

Perhaps the problem is something more to do with the feel of a car which would take into consideration such things as investment in the product, finish, perceived kudos in ownership and of course the prejudice of the badge (NSX v Ferrari v Porsche etc) which would detract from the "sparkle" of a fresh innovative product. There is also the "metal is better" school and the lowest common denominator of all, tribalism, which marks your territory of brand loyalty.

What therfore is a drivers car?

My idea of a drivers car changes as i get older. I used to love my caterham which is "the" undesputable drivers car, but unuseable for normal travel. My GT3, bought on a whim, proved too "firm" and "cabin boomy" for long trips always leaving us tired at the end of the day, which is probably an age related thing again.

Currently my ideal "DC" includes: easy to get in and out of, comfy and supportive sport looking seats, a quiet cabin with the faint sound of a meaningful engine in the background, useable luggage space and economical (30+ mpg). Oh and one other thing great handling for track days (that would be an NSX then if you disregard the handling part).

As for the Evora, the seats are comfy but has no one noticed its pug ugly from all angles?

Mind you so was the Z4. 

 

Not that surprised that the Evora won...if it really feels that good to drive while managing a good ride, it must be a great car.

However, as with other comments above, I can't really uderstand how and why the Aston came before the Porsche...I'm sure the Aston is nicer to live with on a day-to-day basis, but this test was only to see which is the Best drivers car.

I'm also a-bit surprised they didn't even consider a Mercedes CLK Black...

I can see why some of you are a bit mystified about the GT3. But while it is a brilliant car to drive on the track it has some flaws on the road which prevented it from beating the Aston. Namely it doesn't cope as well with the vagaries of British roads as it should.
As for whether the Cayman S or anything else should be included we always pick cars launched this year, and include last year's winner - this time the Nissan GTR.

ps Sorry guys but I'm totally bored by accusations of Autocar's supposedly British prejudice. Our favourite budget car is Korean, an E-class recently beat a Jaguar XF in a comparison test, the Evora lost a twin test against the Cayman S (yes overall the Porsche is the more complete car). And there are countless more recent examples. But I guess if you go looking you can always find what you want...

was the MX-5 not considered powerful enough or was just over looked for more expensive cars?

I know it would not be that quick around a track compared to some of the cars tested here, but surely as a B-road motor it has to be up there with the best in the handling stakes?

Chas,

Even before opening the forum page, I had my suspicions about your results. I have been an enthusiast since I was 9YO (21 years) & these results are generally predictable because we would all have read several different magazine/internet articles about each car before your award.

Now, in all reviews I have read about the GT3 (including Autocar's), the one thing all journalists mentioned about it (apart from the amazing handling/balance/grip/steering/brakes/engine etc etc) was the fact that the ride quality was so supple, it was in danger of being comfortable. So how can you now say that it did not deal with British roads? I can understand if the Evora is more supple than the GTR (it's a lotus), but I find it hard to believe that the Aston is more composed. In fact, in all my time of reading car mags etc, I have never experienced a performance car that has been faultless, like the new GT3. It is believed that it is a perfect machine - one in which Porsche has thrown everything they know about cars into its design.

I respect the findings of Autocar and other good publications mainly because it is my passport to experiencing what I love about performance cars, even if I've never driven some of them. However, Autocar has been suspected of (obvious) bias in the past, due to results that contradict previous findings. Today's result just smacks of a magazine trying to uphold the British automotive industry, particularly in an economic crisis. The whole thing just feels suspicious and all these people can't be wrong for also feeling the same way.

Chas Hallett:

the Evora lost a twin test against the Cayman S (yes overall the Porsche is the more complete car).

Does this mean that you consider the Cayman to be a better 'drivers car' than the GT3?

Chas, as I help to pay your wages, I'd like you to know that I'm bored too ! I'm bored with the brainless regurgitation of Lotus PR, that regularly appears in the magazine. Before Evora launch you were telling us that it was "usefully faster" on circuit than a Cayman. My Dear Boy check the lap times at Goodwood from your own magazine in August 1992 "Best Drivers Cars", stock Porsche 968 ( not a CS ) lapped in 1:35.68, today not far off twenty years later the Evora only managed 1:34.2, with more power and less weight. Even an old man such as myself can manage repeated 1:34's in my remapped but otherwise standard 968CS, and on "nothing special" tyres. A Cayman S is significantly quicker than a 968CS. Maybe Lotus didn't want an Evora/Cayman S back to back at Goodwood and hence you decide to take a GT3, which anyone involved in track driving knows, can't be driven on any track in the UK other than Silverstone due to noise restrictions ? Suppose you guys fancied a play in the GT3 and the Murceilago, and thus further ruined what might of been a worthwhile group test ! My how the standards have slipped !

Well that's it. I'm done.

 After subscribing to Autocar for about 14 years i'm going to cancel. The one bloody thing i look forward to each year is reading the Best Driver's Car issue, and reading through til the end to find the winner.

Then i come on here and you plaster it all over the front page!!!

Why should i continue to buy the mag if you're giong to give us no reason to?

Really not impressed.

As for the result, I agree - the Evora is a simply stunning car to drive. And yes, i've also driven the V12V and the new GT3.

averageman:

How many times have we heard how the GTR has broken this record going around the Nuremburg, or how it scares the daylights out of the established super cars. 

 

Did I say Nuremburg?? DOH  Sorry chaps, Nurburgring Obviously.